Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-04-16
h LIBEL SUITS.

TIE MINER has not referred to the libel
suits which have attracted the attention of
the court and iuries in this city during the
past few days, nor would it do SO at the
present time il our evening contemporary
had displayed the good taste to remain
silent upon the matter. Why suits in which
newspaper writer's are parties should be
spread before the public and commented
upon, while those in which merchants or
miners are parties ~litigant are left to the
records of the court has never yet been nor
never will be made clear. But as the Inter
Mountain has seen fit to indulgei in a cack'e
over their termination, simple justice de-
mands that reference should be made to
them il the columns OF this journal.
The readers OF The MINER will remember
that just prior to the nomination OF the
Hon. j. K. Toole for Delegate to Congress
it was charged that he had opposed the
Manitoba right of way bill in Congress and
was instrumental in causing the President
to veto it. This charge was denied by Mr..
Toole and his friends, and in his speech at
Benton he read a note from Mr.. T.. C.
Power, a leading Republican in the Terri
tory, in which Mr.. Toole was authorized
to say the charge was false. Mr.. Power
was in Washington during the time the bill
was on it's passage through Congress, and
was able to testify to Mr.. Toole's faithful
ness and fid.lity to the measure. The
Hons. W. A. Clark and Martin Maginnis,
who were also there, added their testi-
mony to the same effect.
The charge was then dropped, and
nothing more heard of it during the cam
paign, the Inter Mountain being among
those journals which failed to reiterate it.
About a month after the election Mr.. Read,
the editor of the Inter Mountain, left the
columns OF the paper in charge Of Guy x.
Piatt, and devoted his time to getting out
the Inter Mountain holiday number. Piatt
had scarcely warmed the editorial chair
before he brought up this old charge. The
MINER, not wishing to fight the battle OF
the campaign over again. paid no attention
to it. The Inter Mountain reiterated it.
The MINER then denied it. The denial led
to unworthy comments upon the part
of the Inter Mountain, which were replied
to by this journal.
Finally Piatt wrote an article in which
the editor of The MINER was charactized
by epithets not necessary to repeat here.
The MINER followed with a reply to which
Piatt excepted, and throwing down the pen
with which he had waged his warfare,
ran to the courts for redress and caused
the arrest of the editor OF TIE MINER upon
the charge of malicious libel. The defend.
waived examination and the case went
to the last grand jury. That body indicted
The MINER editor and upon complaint be-
ing made Immediately indicted Piatt for
the article which provoked the one
appeared in The MINER.
The cases were tried at this term of
court. The editor of The MINER was fined.
Piatt was acquitted Upon the ground that
the responsibility of the appearance of the
article in question in the Inter Mountain
could not, in the opinion of the jury, be
had sworn that he was then acting editor
Of the Inter Mountain. It was not con-
tended that Piatt's article was not libel
BUS. Thu question of authorship or re-
'ponsibility for its appearance could not
De determined by the jury. 1t may not be
of place to remark right here hat if the
same testimony had been given before the
rial jury that was given before the Grand !
Jury Piatt would have been convicted.
This is a brief history OF these cases,
Ind as they are the first ones that have |
'een tried in the Territory, they will not
'e without interest to the public if they do
lot point a moral or adorn a tale. THE :
liner agrees with it's evening contempo- +
airy that personal abuse is not legitimate '
journalism, but it holds that when a news c
'aper which prides itself upon it's mud-sling- I
ng qualities gets downed in a fight with it's +
wn weapons, squeals and runs into court
Dr. redress. should at least for a season re-
.ain from preaching about the amenities
z ioy1rpo1iopo r